Homelander waved his hand.
A crystalline, full-length mirror appeared out of thin air in front of the Ancient One.
The Ancient One raised her head and looked at herself in the mirror.
It was a woman who looked to be only about thirty years old.
Her features were delicate, her temperament cold and aloof, and that head of jet-black long hair added a touch of soul-stirring beauty to her original majesty.
This was how she looked hundreds of years ago, before she had assumed the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.
The Ancient One looked at the mirror quietly, not speaking for a long time.
She reached out with a hand as white as jade and gently stroked her cheek, feeling the long-lost warmth and tactile sensation.
For hundreds of years, in order to protect Earth, she had abandoned her appearance, abandoned the emotions of a mortal, and carried the infamy of stealing dark powers, moving forward alone in pain and self-reproach.
She thought this was her destiny, to end only on the day she died in battle.
But now, everything had changed.
She had not only regained her youth but also acquired power even greater than before.
The Ancient One closed her eyes, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze had returned to that composed and calm demeanor.
She turned around to face Homelander.
"Thank you, Anthony."
The Ancient One's voice was still calm, but beneath this calmness, there seemed to be some ambiguous emotions.
"You not only gave me true freedom, but you also helped me find my past…"
Notification! Gained special popularity value +30,000! (From the Ancient One)
She raised her hands, her fingertips quickly forming seals, and golden sparks of magic danced in the air.
As a faint wave of magic swept by, the Ancient One's jet-black, silky long hair disappeared.
Her stunningly beautiful face was hidden beneath a magical disguise, changing back into the original, simple and elegant Sorcerer Supreme.
Homelander recognized this technique at a glance.
It was a basic illusion spell of Kamar-Taj, which he had seen in the Ancient One's magic notes.
"Don't you like this appearance, Teacher?" Homelander asked.
"It is too eye-catching, Anthony," the Ancient One replied. "I don't want to add any extra trouble."
Homelander walked to her side and pressed down on her fingers that were forming the seals.
The golden sparks instantly dissipated.
The Ancient One looked at Homelander in confusion.
"Do me a favor." Homelander looked at her with a smile, "When you are in front of me, maintain your original appearance."
"Why?" A subtle ripple flashed in the Ancient One's eyes, and she asked softly.
Homelander put away his smile, his gaze focused and serious.
"Because time has taken too much from you." Homelander lowered his head slightly, gazing into her eyes.
"You have protected this World in the shadows for hundreds of years, and you have carried the lives of everyone. Now it is all over. You deserve this reward."
Homelander gently raised his hand, his fingertips brushing across her cheek and through her hair.
The Ancient One's body tensed up instinctively for a moment, but immediately relaxed.
She did not dodge, just tilted her head slightly, calmly gazing into Homelander's deep blue eyes.
Seeing this, a charming smile appeared on the corner of Homelander's mouth again.
"When it is just you and me, lay down this burden, and don't hide that true self from me. What I want to see is the woman who can openly bloom as herself."
"You once protected that World, but now, let me protect the you of today, okay? Yao…"
The Ancient One, at this moment, looked at the man before her with a different gaze for the first time.
For hundreds of years, everyone had been demanding protection from her, and everyone had viewed her as a pillar of heaven.
No one had ever said to her, you can lower your defenses and be a woman again.
An inexplicable emotion spread in the bottom of the Ancient One's heart.
It was a long-lost restlessness, and even a hint of fear that she herself felt very strange.
She was actually a little afraid of this feeling of losing control.
A moment later, she lowered her eyelids, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
She waved her hand again, and the magical fluctuations dissipated.
Her jet-black long hair fell over her shoulders again, and that cold, stunningly beautiful face was revealed to Homelander once more.
"Very well, Anthony," she said softly. "As you wish."
Notification! Gained special popularity value +20,000! (From the Ancient One)
Listening to the system's notification sound, Homelander felt absolutely ecstatic.
To be able to continuously harvest a full 50,000 points of special popularity value from the legendary Sorcerer Supreme who seemed to know everything.
This huge sense of accomplishment made every cell in Homelander's body feel delighted.
...
Soon, the Universe Arena welcomed the second day of competition.
The star gates on the outskirts of Knowhere flickered constantly, and spaceships from major galaxies arrived one after another, packing this star region so tightly that not even water could pass through.
The place was bustling with noise and excitement, as countless strange-looking cosmic creatures flooded into the massive Void grandstands.
But compared to the frenzy of the previous day, today's atmosphere had a hint of obvious irritability.
Curses in various alien languages filled every part of the grandstands.
The reason was simple: today's ticket prices had tripled.
In the highest panoramic VIP observation deck, Grandmaster was holding a can of vought functional drink.
With a "hiss," he opened the can, and a small Golden Ticket was pulled out from the opening.
Grandmaster was confused and casually threw it into the trash can.
Then he looked down at the dense crowd of spectators below, listening to their various complaints, yet his face expressed extreme delight.
The agreement he originally reached with Homelander was that he would only take 20% of the Arena's revenue.
But the effect of yesterday's competition was simply explosive, whetting the appetite of the entire Universe's audience to the highest point.
He keenly seized this opportunity, announced a second round of ticket sales during the truce, and without hesitation, raised the price by three times.
The gamblers, while cursing, obediently emptied their pockets.
After this operation of his, the tripled ticket price plus the base of the second round of sales meant the actual profit he received was already equivalent to 80% of the total revenue in the original plan.
"Everything is under control," Grandmaster drank a sip of his drink with satisfaction. "Losing money is not something a businessman like me would do."
Meanwhile, both Homelander and Thanos had returned to their respective preparation platforms.
Inside the Black Order's platform, Dago stood like an iron tower beside Thanos.
He was now nominally the second-in-command of the Black Order.
Ebony Maw stood on the other side, head slightly lowered, his eyes gloomy.
Yesterday's mockery from Mephisto was like a poisonous thorn, deeply piercing his self-esteem.
That devil mocked the Black Order for being incompetent, mocking them for not securing a single victory.
For him, the mastermind of the Black Order and the head of the Black Order, he could not tolerate the hell devil's contempt for their combat power.
Ebony Maw took an elegant step forward, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed slightly.
"Father." His voice was soft and steady, but it could not hide the anger within. "Please allow me to fight this round."
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